Unexpected Night

Henry Gamadge, rare book expert and gentleman sleuth of 1940s New York, makes his very first appearance in this novel, Elizabeth Daly's first mystery, lending a hand to the local cops while on vacation in coastal Maine. It's a strange case involving an apparently natural death, a large inheritance, a mysterious nighttime rendezvous, and a troupe of summer stock actors who start dying off. Something is clearly afoot, but nothing quite seems to fit. The local detective is more than grateful for Gamadge's help and, in the end, Gamadge's hand-writing expertise saves the day.